This wasn’t the plan.
Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino is among those stunned by Boston’s lack of success this season, though he’s also extremely confident the organization will bounce back in 2015. Change already is underway as the Red Sox aim to put an incredibly tumultuous campaign in the rearview mirror.
“No, I didn’t see this coming. This was a perfect storm in so many ways,” Lucchino said Thursday on WEEI’s “Dennis and Callahan” of Boston’s 2014 woes. “We were not alone in being overly optimistic about this team. I think if you go back to the predictions that were made by the sports writers and baseball people early on, there was plenty of optimism carried over from the world championship in 2013.
“But baseball is not only an unforgiving game. It’s also a very unpredictable game. And a lot of those things that worked so well last year and breaks that came our way last year were not present this year.”
Lucchino and the Red Sox maintained confidence amid Boston’s early-season struggles, hopeful that a turnaround would occur before the team dug itself too deep of a hole. The Sox never were able to right the ship, though, and thus decided to make some bold trade deadline moves with an eye toward the future.
The Red Sox soon will enter the offseason with a full plate. Several questions need to be answered, and Boston must make some additions and/or changes to reach greener pastures next season. Fortunately for the Red Sox, the stars seemingly are aligned for the organization to be aggressive in its quest to again field a winning team.
“I think the opportunity for us to rebound, to retool, in the offseason is certainly there,” Lucchino said. “We have the financial wherewithal to take some important steps. And we have younger players, who were perhaps not quite ready this year — at least that’s what the performance would indicate. But they are still immensely talented, young players. We’re beginning to see some of that talent on the part of some of them. Some may have to regress to Triple-A for some seasoning.”
The Red Sox recorded their 70th win of the season Thursday, assuring they’ll at least finish with a better record than the 2012 squad that went 69-93. Boston also is in much better standing than it was following the 2012 season, and we all know what transpired a year later.
“There’s plenty to watch and to enjoy,” Lucchino said. “and there are some rational reasons for hoping expectations being better next year.”
Plan A was foiled. Plan B is in motion.
